Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

Notes: Citrus, Basil, Mint, woods and resins, Cypress

I've read about this being compared to RL Polo. I don't smell the slightest resemblance although I can extrapolate where someone may arrive at the notion. I've also read about the comparison to Rive Gauche by YSL and this isn't the case either. However, it is a dead ringer for YSL Jazz. Both Rive Gauche and Jazz share that Barbesol shaving foam accord that Italian Cypress also has. The reason it is most similar to Jazz is because they both share cinnamon on top of that shaving foam accord. My money would go to Jazz which has more depth and boldness. Italian Cypress is somewhat brighter and smooth making it a tad more wearable perhaps as it finishes with a slightly woody resin. However, the cost is prohibitive and since the creation of Jazz, one has to question if this is needed.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

I totally love the classy and elegant bottles but I've yet to find a juice in the line worth buying. I have a sample of lavender palm I will test next. Briefly, it smells very natural in an essential oil type of way.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

Originally Posted by Scentologist

I totally love the classy and elegant bottles but I've yet to find a juice in the line worth buying. I have a sample of lavender palm I will test next. Briefly, it smells very natural in an essential oil type of way.

I sampled Neroli Portifino in NYC and I was underwhelmed. Of the ones I've smelled/worn, Italian Cypress and Tuscan Leather are the only ones worth owning, but not at their price points. Maybe for $75 or so.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

I like this but I am still drawing the same conclusion. I really like this but can anyone justify or argue the price point? I'm not sure it is worth it and it seems to be a skin scent on me. Plus, this is a cinnamon bomb and was hoping to get more conniffer out of it.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

Originally Posted by Scentologist

I like this but I am still drawing the same conclusion. I really like this but can anyone justify or argue the price point? I'm not sure it is worth it and it seems to be a skin scent on me. Plus, this is a cinnamon bomb and was hoping to get more conniffer out of it.

I don't think any of the Tom Ford PB's are worth their retail price. I've gotten several of them for $1 per ml in splits. Italian Cypress is nice, but it's just an updated Halston Z-14. It's more natural and modern smelling than Z-14, but it's very close. On me IC projects quite a bit.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

IC is exactly halfway between Z-14 and Valentino Vendetta to my nose -- which is to say almost identical to (pre-2011) Z-14 but a little deeper, a little more longlasting, a little more natural, and slightly sharper. Also, it's about 2x as potent, which makes sense since it's an EdP and I believe Z-14 is a cologne.

I'm flabbergasted by the comparisons to Rive Gauche ... much more distant comparison.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

I like Italian Cypress. Longevity and projection is decent. I do three sprays.

Whether it's worth the price, that's debatable. For me it was because I got a 50 ml BNIB for around $135. Got it from eBay. I think I'd stick with splits though, I got a 3-4 year old batch and the Private Blend sprayers aren't that great.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

Italian Cypress smells as synthetic as any other niche and designer fragrances made these days.

I don't know the latest Z-14, but I'd take the far bigger, better and natural smelling bottle of Z-14 I bought ten years ago over ten bottles of Italian Cypress, which smells almost entirely synthetic, as do M (Puredistance) and all kinds of others people go on about smelling so natural. There are better fragrances than Z-14, but it had a chutzpah and temporal development that few modern niche and designer fragrances can even approximate. Vendetta (Valentino) on the other hand was always structurally poverty stricken and smelled like it was made with cheaper ingredients.

In the 90's it was rare for anything to be more than 15-20% natural. With IFRA regulations intensifying since the early 2000's and being far more restrictive for the last few years, it's unlikely that natural ingredients make up more than 10% of any composition. All of these fragrances are run through GC-MS and the formulas are widely known. What fascinates perfumers today is how anything truly great can be made.

Re: Tom Ford: Italian Cypress

It seems TF errs on the side on bond in their reluctance to create original pieces. I totally get the z-14 connection as I use to wear it back in the day. I wonder if TF and bond run mass spec to dup originals?